Pilot Recap

On the planet Krypton in Kandor City, a young Seg-El watches as his grandfather Val-El is taken by armed guards to his trial for treason. Daron offers Val a final chance to pledge his loyalty to The Voice of Rao. Val refuses and Daron whispers to him that all of the council has sworn their loyalty. Val insists that they are not alone in the universe and warns that Krypton is vulnerable. Daron declares Val guilty of sedition, punishable by death, and promises that his family will be stripped of all rights and privileges and considered Rankless. He tells Val that he chose the wrong side and walks away.

Val is escorted to a portal for exile with his family following. He calls to Seg, telling him to believe in a better tomorrow. Seg yells that he loves him, and Val walks through the portal and falls into the mists beyond. Daron leaves

14 Years Later

Seg is fighting in a bar and two corrupt government officials grab and one says that Seg owes him 50,000 solars. Seg's friend Kem looks on and drinks, and Seg finally fights back when a timer goes off. He defeats his two attackers and one of them draws a blasters. Kem aims a bigger gun at the armed man and tells Seg to pay them. Seg transfers the 50,000 to his attackers and they leave. Kem then tells the ones who bet on Seg to go down to pay up. As they do, an Earthman comes into the bar and looks around. He sees Seg at the bar talking to Kem and counting up their winnings. Seg goes out the backway to avoid the officials out front, and orders drinks on the house to cover his exit. The Earthman, Adam Strange, follows him.

Seg returns to his apartment and his father Ter comes in and notices Seg's bruises. He warns Seg that there'll be trouble if he keeps carrying on. Charys comes in and warns Seg that he could be caught after curfew. Seg insists that Ter shouldn't have to work for the Guild to make more money when they forced them to live there. Once Ter leaves, Seg apologizes to Charys for talking back to Ter. She realizes that Ter forgot his meds, and Seg offers to take them to him. She tells him that he smells and Seg goes to clean up.

At the Military Guild, Jayna Zod is fighting with a soldier in front of her class. Once she defeats him, she tells the students to divest themselves of emotion during battle, and calls Lyta-Zod forward. When she hesitates to choose weapons, Jayna tells De-Vem to choose for his beloved. He chooses hand-to-hand, and the two women fight. The instructor soon pins Lyta and tells her to ask for mercy. Lyta finally yields, and Jayna says that their many enemies seek to annihilate them and they never ask for or give mercy. She stabs Lyta in the hand and Lyta tells her mother that she understands.

At the Lawmakers Guild, Daron declare three supposed freedom fighters guilty of high treason for abetting high reason. Seg and Kem come in to find Ter, and a guard stops them and says that Rankless aren't allowed. Meanwhile, Daron asks The Voice to give his blessing. As Seg goes by outside, he sees one man with a bomb and tackles him. They struggle and Seg manages to pin the bomber, and a guard blows the arm with the bomb off.

Daron and his assistant and youngest daughter Nyssa-Vex talk to Seg in private and Daron says that Seg did a brave thing. Seg glare at Daron, who figures that Seg hates him because he erased the House of El's future before it could be written. He notes that if Seg were ranked, he could Bind with someone. Daron says that the Council can reassign rank, and the genetic council thinks Seg is best suited to join the Science Guild. Seg will be assigned a new surname of Vex, and may bind with Nyssa. Nyssa tells Daron that Seg is a wonderful choice, and Daron welcomes Seg to the family.

As Seg and Kem leave, Seg says that he doesn't want to be a Vex. He insists that Kem has just as much right to be Ranked, but Kem won't hear of it. The Eminence and his retinue come through, and a guard beats up one man laying on the street. Seg goes over and says that the man's mind isn't right anymore, and Seg attacks the guard. Dev-Em and Lyta come over. Lyta handcuffs Seg and tells Dev-Em that she'll handle him. Once she leaves with him, she asks Seg what he was thinking and kisses him. She says that the guards were picked by the voice for their devotion, and Seg avoids saying that he's now Bound to Nyssa. He notices that her hand is injured, and Lyta says that she and Jayna spent some quality time in the training room.

Seg goes back and Adam grabs him and says that he doesn't want a fight. He explains that he came across time and space to find Seg, introduces himself, and says that he came from Earth in the future. Adam warns that someone is coming from the future to destroy Krypton, and Seg's grandson becomes the greatest superhero in the universe unless someone changes it so that he's never born. Adam suddenly collapses and says that he's running out of time. He gives Seg a crystal, tells him that he has to find the fortress and save Superman, and disappears. Seg stares at the S symbol on the crystal.

Back at home, Seg looks at the crystal and shows it to Ter. He realizes that it's a variation on their family symbol, and Seg tells them what Adam said. Ter says that he'll take care of the crystal for him, pointing out that it's outlawed. He says that only Seg will be Ranked as the offer was for him only. Seg refuses to leave them behind, but Ter insists that it's a chance for a new life. As he goes, Seg secretly takes the crystal. Ter then says that they have to tell Seg, and it doesn't matter if he's ready or not.

Seg and Nyssa go to the genesis chamber and enter their genetic patterns. The Oracle foresees the product of their union and tells them that their son will be a male named Cor-Vex, and best suited to the Lawmakers Guild. Seg asks Nyssa if it bothers her knowing how their child's life will play out. Nyssa says that she's lucky to be allowed to breed, and warns that Daron is bringing Seg into the family to tame him. She admits that Seg isn't completely repellant and explains that Daron only thinks that he chose Seg before going.

That night, Seg and Lyta end up in bed and Lyta says that she's happy for Seg. She tells him that the Council has scheduled her binding to Dev-Em in two weeks. Seg points out that before the Council, binding was a choice, but Lyta tells him to shut up and they make love.

Seg walks home afterward and two guards call him over. They shove him against the wall and search him, and find the crystal. He attacks them, grabs the crystal, and runs. The guards shoot at him and he runs into a dead-end. Charys flies a skimmer down and tells Seg to get in. He quickly does so and they fly off as the guards arrive.

Charys warns that Seg is playing a dangerous game with Lyta. She knows that Seg has the crystal, a Sunstone, and tells Seg that she's there because of it. Charys flies the skimmer into the Outlands and Val's Fortress of Solitude. They land and go to the fortress doors, and Charys has Seg unlock the doors using the Sunstone. The doors open and they go in. Seg realizes that Adam was right and the fortress is real, and Charys explains that they tried to protect Seg by keeping the fortress' existence a secret from him. She explains Val was determined to prove that they weren't alone in his universe and came there to conduct his research. Val found an alien presence that was consuming planets and would one day come to Krypton. He tried to warn the Council and they silenced him. Charys says that they have to finish his work together.

The scanners pick up military scout ships, and Charys figures that they tracked the skimmer. They fly back to Kandor City and Charys wipes the skimmer computer so they can't find the fortress. Charys tells Seg that he'll has to keep the Sunstone safe and tells him to go. She refuses to go with him and seals the door as the guards come in and arrest her. Dev-Em says that they have to speak to Seg, and Charys claims that Seg wasn't there. Seg listens as Charys says that she serves Black Zero, and the guards take her away.

Seg goes to see an imprisoned cell and suggests that they hand over the Sunstone in return for her freedom. Charys insists that it's more important than anything that happens to her. Jayna comes in and has the guards take Seg away, and tells Seg that she won't let Seg's mistakes ruin Lyta's life. She tells Charys to tell them everything she knows about Black Zero and she'll promise her a good death. Charys refuses and Jayna walks away.

Later, Daron conducts Charys' trial. Jayna reports that there were two bio-signatures in the stolen skimmer. Charys says that the scanners were wrong, and she claimed she was a terrorist to get in front of the citizens. She yells that Val was right, but Danor orders her to remain silent. He asks her if she stole the skimmer to find Val's fortress, and demands to know who his accomplice is. Ter tells Seg not to interfere and then steps forward and says that he's Charys' accomplice. In the struggle Jayna shoots him and Charys goes to her dead husband. She glares up at Jayna, picks up the gun, and aims it at her, and Jayna kills her as well as Seg screams in grief.

Later, Daron tells Jayna to find the fortress so that Val's technology doesn't fall into Black Zero's hands. Jayna figures that Ter confessed to cover for Seg, and Daron tells her that they could have questioned the couple further if they were taken alive. Disgusted, he accuses her of killing the Els out of mercy. Jayna reminds him of the resolve of the House of El, and warns that Daron won't be able to control Seg. She advises him to reconsider his plan and leaves. The Voice comes in and stares at Daron.

Lyta finds Seg and hugs him, and says that she's sorry. He says that Jayna killed his parents and they were all he had, and Lyta tells him that he still has her. Seg figures that they are never going to have a way to be together and walks off.

Seg goes to the bar and tells Rem that he needs to be alone and asks if his friend can help him. Soon, Seg takes a skimmer back to the Fortress. Adam arrives and Seg punches him, saying that he got his parents killed. Adam asks why he's there if he believe that it was for nothing, and Seg figures that if he can finish Val's work then his parents won't have died for nothing. The Earthman tells him that he's not the end of his line and takes out Superman's cape. It's slowly vanishing, and Adam explains that when it is entirely gone then Superman will be wiped from existence. He warns that the alien presence that is coming won't stop at Krypton. The Collector of Worlds--Brainiac--moves from world to world killing billions.

Somewhere deep in space, Brainiac takes another planet.

Adam asks Seg if he's willing to try and gives him the cape.

Written by Gadfly on Mar 22, 2018